All third-grade students in the Grandview Heights City School District will move on to the fourth grade, having met the requirements set in the state's Third-Grade Reading Guarantee.

All but one of the district's 83 third-graders met or exceeded the cutoff score of 392 after the second administration of the state's reading test in May, Superintendent Ed O'Reilly said. The official passing score indicating reading proficiency is 400.

O'Reilly said a student may avoid the requirement to be held back if he or she:

• speaks limited English, has been enrolled in an American school for fewer than three full school years and has had fewer than three years of instruction in an English as a Second Language program;

• is a special-education student whose individualized education program specifically exempts him or her from retention under the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee;

• demonstrates reading competency on an alternative to the state test approved by the Ohio Department of Education; or

• has received intensive remediation for two years and previously was retained in grades K-3.

O'Reilly would not confirm the specific factor that exempted the Grandview student from having to retake and earn the cutoff score on the test.

After the first administration of the reading test in the fall, eight Grandview third-graders failed to meet the cutoff score, O'Reilly said.

That total included all students, including those who were exempt due to one of the four provisions, he said.

The state required districts to work with parents to implement an intervention plan for students identified as not being on track after the fall assessment, O'Reilly said.

"Our third-grade staff does a wonderful job of working with each student to help them improve their reading skills," he said.

The district has in place a program to intervene with students in grades K-2 who are demonstrating deficiencies in reading skills, O'Reilly said.

"We have a long-term plan in place and I think that was a major reason for our students' success" on the third-grade reading test, he said.

Two staff members at Stevenson Elementary School work specifically as reading intervention specialists, O'Reilly said.